lot of the theology wrong what she believes. in 2008, john mccain was endorsed by several pastors and it became multi-day stories in the media about john mccain's endorsements but the jeremiah wright stuff, you talk to a lot of reporters, they say barack obama never went to jeremiah wright's church. he just used that to build his political career in chicago. i as a conservative really don't think the media has portrayed barack obama's relationship with jeremiah wright as he himself did in 2008 and i still think that's a relevant topic. >> actually, bryce, let me bring you in here. then candidate obama in 2008 did make that speech in which he said i was there when he made controversial remarks and just like a lot of people disagree with their pastors, i disagreed with him on some of the things he said and here's the person i know, and then distanced himself. what do you make of this tape tonight? >> i think it's very interesting that anybody would say that we haven't properly vetted president obama. there are few situations where you are going to be scrutinized more heavily than by bei

hopping from that one from john mccain who gave teddy a pep talk about his performan performance. teddy won, teddy won, teddy won. w teddy's losing streak last the 538 games for the number of votes in the electoral college. that's so d.c. it sure is. much more ahead, including the great james lipton who is going to be grading the debate performances of both president obama and mitt romney last night. he's the best. you're watching, "hardball," the place for politics. you're watching, "hardball," the >>> i'm hampton pearson with your cnbc market wrap. the dow gains 82. the s&p rises 10 and the nasdaq is up 14 points. >>> minutes from the last federal reserve meeting show all central bankers but one were in agreement about the fed's latest round of bond buying. as for the economy, jobless claims rose a smaller than expected 4,000 last week to 367,000, and tomorrow's jobs report is on friday, of course, payrolls are expected to rise by 113,000 with the unemployment rate moving up to 8.2%. that's it from cnbc, first in business worldwide. now back to "hardball." >>> welcome back to "

hillary clinton, one on one in the 2008 democratic primary, then three debates against john mccain. it's a different dynamic than to be the frontrunner where four or five people are aiming at you throughout a debate. >> here we are on the eve practically of the first debate and it's supposed to be an economic, domestic policy. >> right. >> and now foreign policy has reared its head. we have first of all mitt romney and "the wall street journal" an op-ed, saying that these developments are not as president obama says, mere bumps in the road. they are major issues that put our security at risk, yet amid this upheaval our country seems to be at the mercy of events rather than shaping them, not moving them in a direction that protects our people or allies. and paul ryan just now on the laura engram radio show, saying this about afghanistan. >> that echos also what john mccain said on "morning joe" today. are they trying to change the skubts to get off -- subject to get off 47% and other missteps and perceived problems in their camp or see a real vulnerability here after benghazi in the way t

start great businesses out of a garage. >> and john mccain the maverick probably would have done better in the presidential race. >> absolutely. i was just going to say that. you bring up mavericks, i'm not going to say it's easy. it's not easy to be a maverick. there's not that many. steve jobs, we always cite him. but where are the mavericks in this town? there are very few people who go out and speak against the party line. that's got to change. >> these parties are in boxes right now. you're a red shirt, blue shirt, you wear another shirt you're out in the primary. >> you were there. >> exactly. you got some disciplining factors now. >> the matters of politics are all on tv. >> if it keeps up, we will have a third party candidate as president of the united states. if these two parties keep going to their ring and won't talk to each other, we're going to have a third party president. >> but the american people have a role in this too. if you're supporting a candidate who goes to congress and says i'm going to vote against republicans or whatever party is, you can have a member of con

theory. look at these interviews. congressman alan west, senator john mccain both on cnbc. here we go. >> i know. >> you are alleging specifically that the president is engaging in a cover-up of the data. you are saying that the administration is actively manipulating that data. correct? >> well, absolutely. >> frankly, i am not enough of an economist to question exactly what those numbers are. our discussion about the warren act that just took place where there are blatant violations of the law, i wouldn't put anything past this administration. >> you know, these are sitting members of congress. >> yeah. >> alan west won, of course. we know his party. he's very conservative nap said, john mccain. are you surprised by his comments? >> i'm very surprised by his comment. all of those comments, they're not just deeply irresponsible, but without a shred of evidence they are casting doubt about a very important number in our economy. now, if you understand the way the bureau of labor statistics collects data, and i used to work for the department of labor, and i used to work for the exe

it is, chris. i mean, the great thing about president obama and the debates with john mccain, it really wasn't so much what he said. it was the way he held himself compared with the way that senator john mccain held himself, and senator mccain looked increasingly flustered. he looked frustrated with candidate obama. i think that the great thing about president obama is that he does have the capacity to be totally in the moment and to be totally funny. he is funny on his feet. and so, you know, for him to practice what he's going to do in case of a zinger, i think he's got the blessing of being rather spontaneous and the blessing of being up against someone who is incapable of spontaneity, reveals himself in those spontaneous moments like the 47% taped remark to be not a terribly likable person. so i think for the president to practice the way he handles zingers defeats what the president is particularly good at. >> well, actually barack means -- barack means in swahili blessed one, so you got that one right. will president obama challenge romney on the details of his vague tax pl

in character as barack obama, he really upset john mccain's wife. you have to tell me the story about cindy mccain. >> she was very good about attending debate preps and being with john. at one point, literally walked out. we knew she was walking out on purpose because i was going after her husband. >> it was too much for her to take. >> she still doesn't like me to this day. >> romney's been getting that portman treatment for more than a month. >> after the hour and a half is over, i want to kick him out of the room. >> sources close to romney say this is his danger zone. his tendency to get defensive, which produces gaffes. remember this? >> it was true then. >> no, rick, i'll tell you what -- 10,000 bucks? >> reviewed romney performances with his debate coach during the gop primaries. is mitt romney coachable when it comes to that? >> absolutely. absolutely. he was, he's a great student of political debate. he works very hard at it. >> brett o'donnell says it is proof romney is a quick study. >> all i want to do is allow the grandmother to be here legally with some rights. >>

cnn the president has been out of practice. >> last debate president had was against john mccain. and he's had no debates in between and it just makes a difference. i can tell you from my own experience. >> back in 2008, the president had plenty of debate practice. sometimes, it showed. >> straight talk express lost a wheel on that one. >> sometimes, it didn't. >> he's very likable. i, i agree with that. i don't think i'm that bad. >> you're likable enough. >> thanks. >> that was a smackdown so unlike his nice guy image, the obama team still considers it one of the standout errors of 2008. tonight, his team says, the president will push mitt romney on specifics. >> he come to this debate with a heavy burden to finally put out those details of where he wants to take this country. >> a message his sparring opponent echoes. >> and about substance? >> sure. want to know. i want to know what's going on. >> policy. >> people are interested in the situation there in america, the challenges we face. sure. >> candy, today happens to be an important day for president obama for another reason. i

they showed at that time in the race against john mccain then senator now president obama he got 68% or so of latino voters. he seems to be doing even better right now among latino voters. here's the question, john, for you. are these guaranteed votes that the president can put in the bank right now five weeks to the day before the election? >> reporter: again, in a word, the answer is no, or not quite. because this is such an important constituency, part of our reporting in colorado, wolf, we went to an obama campaign local headquarters last night in the beginning of the suburban stretch and they were making phone calls to latino voters because they know this in the obama campaign, it's not just the percentage, it's how many turnout. and there is deep concern while we were there at the phone bank we spoke to several people in the room that say when they call the latino voters, they are hearing more and more unlike four years ago people saying he's been president four years and where are the jobs? or he's just another politician. or this is the choice of the lesser of two evils, rom

. lots of debate analysis ahead on "starting point." we'll be talking live with john mccain of arizona and rand paul of kentucky. from team obama, we'll be speaking with martin o'malley and campaign spokeswoman, jen psaki. plus, obama's former economic adviser, austan goolsbee. first, though, a look at the instant reaction from the debate in the cnn/orc poll, of debate watchers taken right after the debate, 67% say they think romney won. 25% only thought the president won. cnn's dana bash joins us this morning to go over some of the hits and some of the misses. good morning. >> good morning. well, i'm here in new york, so maybe we should talk about what happens, how you get to carnegie hall, practice, practice, practice. and is that clearly is what helped the mitt romney. he spent a lot of time practicing, really for the past month doing these mock debates. and when it comes to the president, he was rusty. right out of the gate, it was clear. mitt romney came to play. >> the president has a view very similar to the view he had when he ran four years ago. that a bigger governmen

. we get an interesting perspective on this from john mccain, he's debated both the president and mitt romney. he says we will see two very strong well-prepared debaters and he predicts few surprises. the president's behind closed doors in nevada for the next two days preparing to face mitt romney in denver wednesday. >> he's a good debater. i'm just okay. but what i'm most concerned about is having a serious discussion about what we need to do to keep the country growing. >> reporter: both sides are downplaying expectations. a senior aide to the president says romney will be prepared, disciplined and aggressive. romney's debate partner calls the president a tough debater. >> barack obama is going to be formidable, and i think it will be a good debate, but i certainly would not underestimate what barack obama brings to it. >> reporter: john kerry's playing romney with the president. in a weekend memo, republicans urged kerry to press the president on libya and syria. romney calls obama's foreign policy dangerous. romney's debate plan, clearly and concisely explain how he can fix the ec

debated both of them, senator john mccain joins me. >> frankly, i didn't expect the president to do that poorly. >> he knows when to hold them and when to fold them. ♪ know when to walk away and know when to run ♪ >> the legendary kenny rogers, taking on politics -- >> in all fairness i really wanted obama to be a great president. >> and talking about his music and his love life. oh, yes, and we sing a duet. ♪ islands in the stream ♪ that is what we are >> this is "piers morgan tonight." >>> we begin with tonight's big story with just 32 days before the election, the new jobs report numbers are out and they are shaking up the race again. the unemployment rate fell to 7.8%, the lowest since january 2009, when president obama was inaugurated. he is hoping the new numbers will bring him a second term. he and governor romney know the election's all about the economy and both men were trading jabs today in the battleground state of virginia. >> today's news certainly is not an excuse to try to talk down the economy to score a few political points. it's a reminder that this countr

through. you know, this was a point in 2008 when something similar happened with john mccain. he couldn't recall in an interview how many houses or properties he owned. that became a sort of explaining narrative for all sorts of reasons why, and this may sound familiar, why he seemed out of touch. this 47% video resonated to a greater degree than john mccain not remembering how many homes he owned. so, if you have failed at this point to explain who you are, if you have another version of that story out there, you cannot undo it in one debate. you can try and engage with people directly to camera, but mitt romney is also going to want to land some punches. that's going to take time away from his job, number one, which should be telling people, for once, who he really is. >> i think that may be intentional. john, this is how romney's running mate paul ryan addressed the 47% comment captured in that secret video yesterday. take a listen. >> is there any way possible that this 47% can pay a nominal fee or something so they feel that they have small ownership in the government and ma

question john mccain's judgment. are they above the bar where there's no real quality difference? >> i think there's an open question about ryan. he can be glib and telegenic that comes across as competent where palin didn't have that skill. we can't say l about. j was the last time a vice president made -- palin in 2008 is a dramatic one. estimates that it was one, 1.5 points is what she cost john mccain for being on the ticket. which is huge. think back to dan quayle. i've never seen a more dramatic contrast between the competence of the two vice presidential candidates, lloyd benson, this old testament authority and dan quayle and benson delivered that devastating line. michael dukakis lost the election but the race tightened towards the end. there was a lot of considerat n consideration -- >> let me ask one last question here on this particular issue. is this going to be more fun for joe biden than 2008 was because sarah palin was someone that he had to pull punches against both because she was a woman, but also because it would not have looked good to beat up on her? is this more

of seniors voted for john mccain because they were hesitant how the health care reform would take place. talking about ryan and medicare and seniors, it comes down to florida. >> florida, florida, florida, david. she is right about one thing. if you look at the poll, the one area where you see consistent movement poll after poll after poll toward barack obama has been with senior citizens. you know as well as i do, they are a consistent voting block. they go to the polls in larger percentages. has the obama administration been successful at branding the medicare plan of the republicans as voucher care and are senior citizens moving away because they're afraid of the medicare changes? >> the ryan budget plan existed in terms of the 2010 election when republicans won 65 plus seniors by 21 points. part of the dynamic that exists here is, in fact, seniors are really unhappy with president obama's health care plan. what you see is this significant concern handling medicare, four years ago republicans would lose that by 25 points. now it's down in low single digits where republicans mad

jobs and get america working again. >> let's get right to tonight's big story. we're with john mccain, former presidential candidate, and he joins me now. welcome to you, senator. >> thank you, piers. >> when it comes to the debate, you were one of the only people, actually, who has debated both barack obama and mitt romney, so you are in a unique place to tell me what you made of both of their performance. whatever way you spin this from the republican side, the job front has to be good news not only for the president but also america, but the number has now gone down to 7.8% for the first time since 8% of his presidency. >> i think that's found to be good news, but i also think you have to take it in the context that 7.8% is still unacceptably high. but it is good news, and i think it's going to be of some help to the president, but certainly with the numbers of unemployed americans we have now, the 23 million, i guess it is, it's still an unacceptable situation. i think the president will concede that. >> jack welsh said today, unbelievable jobs numbers. these chicago guys will do anything

barack obama and highlighted john mccain's weakness when it came to the economy. so what about this year 2012? that old video of an angry speech with racial overtones by then candidate obama which resurfaced last night could sway some voters. or maybe the surpriseis still lurking out there somewhere. tonight's debate has the potential to provide one. there's always a chance for significant economic news, jobs report, the potential for the u.s. to go off that well-talked about fiscal cliff. and it's not hard to imagine some unexpected event in the middle east, take your pick, iran, israel, syria, libya. here's the question, what will be the october surprise in this year's presidential election? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile, post a comment on my blog. or go to our post on "the situation room" facebook page. trick or treat, wolf. >> yeah. october surprise, i suspect there will be at least one or two big ones coming up. >> probably. >> yep. thank you. >>> let's get more now on that video that jack just mentioned five years ago. five years ago during his first presidential campaign then-senator

opponent, that being john mccain. we'll talk to a presidential historian about how the format either has helped or hurt past candidates. to physics, right? so, explain this. how can something get bigger.. and smaller? there's more of it.. and less of it? well, i guess the laws of physics are more like.. general guidelines. the wheels of progress. seems they haven't been moving much lately. but things are starting to turn around because of business people like you. and regions is here to help. with the experience and service to keep things rolling. from business loans to cash management, we want to be your partner moving forward. so switch to regions. and let's get going. together. ♪ [ man ] excuse me miss. [ gasps ] this fiber one 90 calorie brownie has all the moist, chewy, deliciousness you desire. mmmm. thanks. [ man ] at 90 calories, the brownie of your dreams is now deliciously real. [ female announcer ] and now, try our new chocolate chip cookie 90 calorie brownie. >>> the next presidential debate, october 16th. it's a tuesday. the moderator cnn's own candy crowley. the first deb

is not the best format for everybody. we saw the last go-round with obama and senator john mccain. mccain seemed a little uncomfortable, stiff there in that format, and the president walked around and seemed casual and comfortable making a connection with the audience. how important is that? >> it's everything. i mean, the master of this form is bill clinton. in fact, it was clinton in 1992 that kept saying i want more town hall forms because he can have such a great interpersonal relationship with people. he -- clinton can lock on somebody. he felt like he was talking directly at you. if you really think about what barack obama's problem was the last debate, he kept looking down at his notes and seemed to not really engage either romney or the moderator, for whatever his reasons. this time it's going to be different. he will be talking to the voter, so you really want to go right at them and talk to them as if you're their best friend. i would be studying, if i were both of them, bill clinton tapes. >> some analysts say that they thought the president perhaps misjudged here because he wa

has never won until right then and there. teddy won. senator john mccain was tweeting his celebration. this was a huge deal in washington. our congratulations to teddy. "morning joe" starts right now. >> does anybody out there think that the big problem we had is that there was too much oversight and regulation of wall street? because if you do, then governor romney is your candidate. >> i will not reduce the share paid by high-income individuals. i know that you and your running mate keep saying that, and i know it's a popular thing to say with a lot of people, but it's just not the case. look, i've got five boys. i'm used to people saying something that's not always true but just keep on repeating it and ultimately hoping i'll believe it. >> for 18 months he's been running on this tax plan. and now five weeks before the election, he's saying that his big, bold idea is never mind. >> you said you get a deduction for taking a plant overseas? look, i've been in business for 25 years. i have no idea what you're talking about. i maybe need to get a new accountant, but the idea that you g

thought of barak obama. show of hands. how many of you voted for john mccain in 2008? okay. minority of you. how many thought mitt romney won this debate in 2012, raise your hands? almost all of you. so give me a word or phrase to describe romney's performance today. >> showmanship, stage craft. >> noncommittal. >> principled. >> articulate and command of the facts. >> clearly passionate and definitive. >> mostly shallow. >> determined. >> articulate and energetic. >> passion and vibrant. >> demonstrated experience. >> in control. >> determined and optimistic. >> prepared and passionate. >> i thought insincere. >> well coached and prepared. >> vague and as usual. >> leadership. >> direct. >> knowledgeable, yet defensive. >> confident. >> political and nonspecific. >> decisive. >> energized. >> passionate with truth. >> what's the number one issue facing denver and colorado -- who here thinks it's jobs? okay. there is one moment when mitt romney looked at barak obama and said, you shouldn't be focusing on other issues. his priority is jobs. here is one of mitt romney's high points in

in trouble right now. that can all change on wednesday night. >>> coming up, senator john mccain joins us on set. also, senator chuck schumer, "new york times" columnist frank bruni and tom brokaw. >>> up next, mike allen up next with the top stories in the "politico playbook." first, bill karins with a check on the forecast. >> happy october, everyone. this is the month of change weatherwise, where we start to cool things off in a hurry and start to watch the leaves coming down. as we head through this month, expect a much cooler month than we've had in months past. we're looking at the middle of the country especially with below-average temperatures as we go throughout the first two weeks. now, as far as this morning goes, two big storms on the map. one has been plaguing northern new england all weekend long. the other one has been plaguing the deep south. they're both on the move today. and we are going to watch that rainy weather spreading. also severe storms are possible once again in alabama into georgia from atlanta to birmingham to montgomery, maybe even some isolated tornadoes

. ann coult yoer and larry the cable by and senenor john mccain. stay with us. when making soup. mmmm! [ female announcer ] the secret is swanson. follow the wings. mike rowe here at a ford tell me fiona, who's having a big tire event? your ford dealer. who has 11 major brands to choose from? your ford dealer. who's offering a rebate? your ford dealer. who has the low price tire guarantee... affording peace of mind to anyone who might be in the market for a new set of res? your ford dealer. i'm beginning to sense a pattern. buy four select tires, get a $60 rebate. use the ford service credit credit card, get $60 more. that's up to $120. where did you get that sweater vest? your ford dealer. >> gretchen: good morning, everyone. told is thursday, october 4, 2012. i'm gretchen carlson. i hope you're gonna have a great day. round one goes to mitt romney who hit the president where it hurts. on his record. >> $90 billion, like 50 years worth of breaks into solar and wind. i mean, i had a friend who said you don't just pick the winners and losers, you pick the losers. >> gretchen: was last

. when the economy imploded, john mccain's advisers say his campaign collapsed along with it and never recovered. historians say in order for an october surprise to have a real 11th hour impact it has to feed into a narrative that already exists, whether it's carter's ineffectiveness or questions about mccain's credentials on the economy. >> it's not so much that suddenly, eureeka, this is so surprising, so amazing but rather people nod, yes, this is where we thought things were going. >> that is so fascinating. dana bash is live from our washington bureau. so, question, do some think friday's jobs report from the labor department, could that be an october surprise? >> sure. why not, carol? at this point, anything could be an october surprise. the fact is that maybe we've already seen it. maybe it was the tragedy in libya, the unrest in the middle east and how the candidates responded. maybe it was that infamous 47% remark that mitt romney had. maybe one or both of the campaigns has some dirty trick in their pocket that they're going to be ready to get out there at the 11th hour. but y

election. of the people who voted early in ohio 2008 they favored barack obama over john mccain by nearly 60/40. so early voting was a great boom to the democratic side the last time barack obama ran for president. if you're a republican you can see the problem. when the republican party subsequently took over control of state government in ohio, they moved to shut down as much early voting as they could. ohio republicans first tried to cut early voting in half. democrats were able to block them on that. so then they came up with a plan where only republican-leerning countys would not have those hours. that was subtle. they didn't get away with that either. finally they tried to settle on all the counties in the state having the same early voting hours, but early voting would stop throughout the state days sooner than it usually did. the last three days before the election including the all important last sunday before the election when african-american churches in particular typically organized their souls to the polls car pool trips to bring people to early vote. ohio's republica

classic example going back to 2007, john mccain talking about osama bin laden. i wa to play that. >> another painful one. >> on the subject of osama bin laden, he is responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent americans, he is now orchestrating other attacks on the united states of america, we will do whatever is necessary, we will track him down, we will capture, bring him to justice and i'll follow him to the gates of hell. >> okay. >> oh, gosh. >> that was like a smile. >> yes. so that's -- you know, sort of nonverbal asin cronie. between either the content of what the person is saying and the nonverbals are saying or asynchronies between the nonverbals. when you are saying you are following someone to the gates of hell, you shouldn't be smiling. ewers don't know why, but it makes them feel bad. it is very adversive to see that kind of thing. >> there are reports that romney's team is preparing what are called zingers for tomorrow night's debate. when a candidate has been stung by one, it can be very effective. the exchange between ronald reagan and walter mondale demo